Assailants Launch Attack on Key Turkish Defense Company

It's being called a 'terrorist attack'
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 23, 2024 11:21 AM CDT
Attack on Turkish Defense Company Leaves 3 Dead
People gather outside of the Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. on the outskirts of Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.   (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photo via AP)

The Turkish government says a "terrorist attack" carried out at the headquarters of the state-run aerospace and defense company Tusas has left at least 3 people dead and another 14 people wounded. The Guardian reports a "large blast" occurred outside the building and gunfire was heard. The AP reports by way of local media that three attackers dressed in black, including one woman, arrived on scene via taxi as security personnel's shifts were changing. They reportedly detonated a bomb near the taxi then gained access to the facility. At least two of the assailants were killed.

"I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs," said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "A terrorist attack was carried out against the Tusas facilities in Kahramankazan, Ankara. Unfortunately, we have martyrs and injured people," the interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, posted on X. No group had taken responsibility for the attack; the Guardian notes Kurdish militants, ISIS, and leftist extremists have previously carried out attacks in Turkey.

The paper calls Tusas "one of Turkey's most important defense and aviation companies. It produces Kaan, the country's first national combat aircraft, among other projects." The AP notes the drones produced by Tusas "have been instrumental in Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants in Turkey and across the border in Iraq."

(More Turkey stories.)

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